Dumbledore’s Sexuality Won’t Be ‘Explicitly’ Referenced in Next Fantastic Beasts Film

The laws of the Harry Potter universe are widely known: don't delve too deeply into the mysteries of life and death, avoid being seen by muggles, and Dumbledore is gay.

When writer J.K. Rowling dropped that bomb 10 years ago, the global Harry Potter fandom was alight with every possible kind of reaction. When she went on to reveal that Dumbledore was once in love with Gellert Grindelwald, the Wizarding World's big bad before Voldemort, they were properly shook.

Though fans of the book had just been given a pivotal gay character to latch onto and theorize about, it seemed that they would never have more than hearsay or small notes from Rowling detailing Dumbledore's younger years. Throughout the Harry Potter series right up until his death, Dumbledore's sole focus is protecting the world from Voldemort and his schemes.

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But now, with the Fantastic Beasts franchise predating the Harry Potter series, and with Grindelwald already slated as the villain - will fans finally see an unquestionably queer side of a young Dumbledore? If they are, it's not in the second film.

Speaking with EW, The Crimes of Grindelwald director David Yates said the upcoming film will not directly deal with Dumbledore's sexuality.

"Not explicitly," he said, when asked if the film inarguably displays Dumbledore being gay. "But I think all the fans are aware of that. He had a very intense relationship with Grindelwald when they were young men. They fell in love with each other's ideas, and ideology and each other."

Fans shouldn't dismay just yet though. The upcoming Fantastic Beasts installment will only the second of a planned five, so there's plenty of time for more facets of Dumbledore's personal life to be detailed and touched upon. "I can't tell you everything I would like to say because this is obviously a five-part story and there's lots to unpack in that relationship," Rowling said during a press conference two years ago. "You will see Dumbledore as a young man and quite a troubled man - he wasn't always the sage... We'll see him at that formative period of his life. As far as his sexuality is concerned... watch this space." Read the full EW article, here.